Overwhelmingly Under Par

Steve McClaren must be praying that England’s performance in the Under 21 international against Moldova at Portman Road will not serve as an omen for his forthcoming friendly against Greece, because the truth is that Peter Taylor’s side were dismal against a team from a country of some 4 million people.

It all started brightly enough, with Arsenal’s Theo Walcott marking his debut as the Under 21’s youngest ever player with a powerful 3rd minute header from Leighton Baines’ pinpoint cross. But that was as good as it got. England couldn’t keep the ball and at times looked shaky at the back, and as a result Moldova came more and more into the game, deservedly equalising through Alexeev’s cool finish 30 minutes into the second half. Fortunately, Nugent’s close range header restored England’s advantage almost immediately - but it was a fragile lead as substitute Zislis proved with his first touch, a crisp close range volley to bring Moldova level and end the game with disappointment for England.

Underachievement on this scale will inevitably invite comparison with the full international team’s showing in the World Cup in Germany, and in truth there were precious few positives to take out of this game. The promise of Theo Walcott, who hasn’t played for ages and was deprived by a virus infection of a proper pre-season’s training, was evident in his first goal – but Peter Taylor’s game plan (if there was one) showed no evidence of any strategy to capitalise on the 17 year old’s electrifying pace. Routledge and Bentley flattered to deceive, with a conspicuous absence of end product, and the midfield in general was dull and uninspiring. And though the industrious Nugent proved impressive in parts, there was otherwise little indication that this team contained anyone who could be expected to break into McClaren’s squad in the foreseeable future. Indeed, some of them would have struggled to find a place in the Moldova side.

The inescapable conclusion is that from England’s point of view this performance was the football equivalent of Mogodon and an apt justification for Steve McClaren’s determination that the Under 21 side warrants a full time manager.